Church evicted, Christians barred from renewing residential permits

Monday, May 15, 2017

The notice Ma received when attempting to renew hisresidential permit online, which reads, "The person at theaddress Fupu Street, Panyu District has already applied fora residence permit on May 23, 2014. The reason for theapplication is: 'other.' The current status of the application is:'declined.' Unable to renew the residential permit or changethe address!" (Photo: ChinaAid)

ChinaAid

(Guangzhou,
Guangdong—May 15, 2017) Authorities in China’s southern Guangdong province
continue to track the movements of a serially persecuted house church,
pressuring their landlord until he evicted them on May 4 and leaving them
without a place to worship.

For years,
officials have been harassing Guangfu Church for not joining the
state-sanctioned Three-Self Church by coercing its successive landlords to
terminate their contracts. On May 4, the pastor of the church, Ma Ke, received
a notice declaring that the contract had been terminated and ordering him to
move out. The landlord said the police visited him several times when Ma called
to inquire about the sudden eviction.

In a
similar instance in June 2016, the church’s landlord succumbed to government
harassment and ended his contract with the church. Ma was also forced from his
personal residence in September 2015, and the landlord said that he would
rather pay the liquidated fees rather than face continued police pressure.

Additionally,
when Ma tried to renew his Guangzhou residential permit online, he was denied
and later learned that the authorities published a wanted notice for him. Other
members of the church were also barred from renewing their permits, without
which they cannot get driver’s licenses or purchase new cars. When ChinaAid
spoke to him, Ma stated his intention to sue the police if they refused to
revoke the sanction on his permit by May 10, but it is unknown whether or not
he followed through with his plan.

ChinaAid
reports abuses such as those experienced by Guangfu Church in order to stand in
solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human
rights, and rule of law.